(EMI U.K.)
This single presents an intriguing situation, where a group of Oasis-copycats take the real Oasis to task for copying old songs. Apart from the various levels of irony on display, the No Way Sis cover of the New Seekers song-cum-cola advertisement is a terrific piece of Oasis-style rock.
Added to the song are background vocals of "shake along with me," mocking No Way Sis's heroes for ripping off "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" in their hit "Shakermaker."
The b-sides include two oasis-style-but-no way sis-written tunes, an up-tempo instrumental, "Quick Sand Song," and the wistful acoustic "Good Times," presumably sung, like the Noel-sung b-side on every Oasis single, by the ersatz Noel of no way sis.
Some might say this is the nadir of Britpop's derivative tendencies, but on the other hand it is difficult to criticize a band that imitates a band who admit to imitating the Beatles (though Oasis did think up their own name). While many bands slyly left from other groups or songs, No Way Sis, unlike Northern Uproar (Oasis) or Heavy Stereo (Slade) or Gene (the Smiths) or Elastica (Wire) or Pulp (Laura Branigan's "Gloria", itself taken from the Italian Umberto Tozzi), are willing to give credit to the original authors and freely admit they are aping their heroes. This makes them not dissimilar to many bands from a period whose credentials are rarely questioned, namely the Beat/British Invasion era that saw the rise of many bands with covers of old favorites: the Rolling Stones with "Not Fade Away" or "Time is on my side" or "Route 66," the Beatles with "Twist and Shout" or "Chains," the Animals with "House of the Rising Sun," the Searchers with "Love Potion Number 9," Manfred Mann with "Doo Wah Diddy" - the list is endless.
No Way Sis have, incidentally, signed a five-album deal with EMI U.K.
